'We used to run this country,
and it wouldn't be a bad thing if we did again'

Contributors

Christopher Platt
Is General Manager Workplace Policy for AMMA. He is a member of the ACCI Council, Employment and Labour Relations Committee, a Director of the National Business Action Fund and has represented Australian employers at a range of International Labour Organisation meetings. He is also Executive Officer of the Agribusiness Employers Federation, a position he has held almost continuously since May 1992.

Prior to joining AMMA in 1992, Christopher was an Industrial Advocate for the South Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (now Business SA) from 1989 to 1992 and a Police Officer (Prosecutor) from 1978 to 1987.

Peter Anderson
is Director of Workplace Policy for the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI), the peak national body of employer organisations in Australia. Peter is an industrial lawyer and a workplace policy specialist.
Peter joined ACCI at the beginning of 2002. Prior to this Peter was Senior Adviser to two Federal Ministers for Employment and Workplace Relations, Peter Reith and Tony Abbott.
He also helped shaped workplace reforms by the South Australian government between 1993 and 1995 and was chief of staff to the South Australian Premier in 1996.

Brian Lawrence
is Chairman of the "Australian Catholic Commission for Employment Relations" (ACCER). He was the primary author of "Workplace Relations: A Catholic Perspective" published in May 2007. Mr Lawrence was formerly a member of the Victorian Industrial Relations Tribunal.

Nigel Hadgkiss
is Deputy Commissioner of the Australian Building and Construction Commission. Nigel had been the Director of the Building Industry Taskforce since its inception in October 2002. He was originally seconded from the Australian Crime Commission (formerly the National Crime Authority) where he held the position of National Director of Intelligence. Throughout the Cole Royal Commission, Nigel was the NCA's liaison officer. Before joining the NCA, he was an Assistant Commissioner with the AFP. His law enforcement experience spans over 38 years.

Grace Collier
At the age of 21, whilst an employee within Marketing at Telstra, Grace was identified by Officials within the Community and Public Sector Union as an individual with leadership talent for the organisation of labour and workplace activism. Inducted into the ACTU's special training and development program, Grace began as a rookie Organiser with The Australian Services Union.

Subsequently, rejected by the BLF and the CFMEU on the grounds of being "a girl and too small", she eventually secured a position as Organiser with the Storeman and Packers Union; commonly referred to as 'the Packers and Wackers'

During the great dispute between Patrick and the MUA, Grace played an instrumental role in the Queensland section of the resistance movement and was one of the core group arrested and charged for her role in operations. However, upon the election of the Labor Government, all charges against Grace were dropped; for which Grace informs me she is now most grateful.

The road travelled since her early days as a Union Official has been one of growth and challenge as Grace has navigated through several strategic career moves that have propelled her to her current role as a partner and advisor to boards and top-level executives.

Grace formed Industrial Relations Consulting in 2003. Since then, each project Grace has undertaken has been stamped with her individual style; she conceives and steers strategic long-term visions for her clients while simultaneously micro managing the fine detail.